Prits” reiterates that the People’s Party will move forward with proposing amendments to the constitution in 2 parallel directions: amending the entire constitution and section by section, proposing 7 packages, but requests a pause on amending ethical issues for now, fearing that other parties will use this as a reason not to support amending other sections, insisting that it is not related to social trends.
Mr. Parit Wacharasindhu, MP for the Prachachon Party, announced the party’s position on moving forward with amending the constitution article by article in parallel with drafting a new constitution, emphasizing the necessity to move forward with two parallel paths: drafting a new constitution and amending article by article because amending the entire constitution will take at least 1-2 years because there must be a referendum 3 times, the establishment of a Constituent Assembly, and there is a risk that it will not be used in time for the 2027 election. There is also the issue of amending the referendu
m by a single-level majority of the senators, which may result in an inability to reach an agreement.
Mr. Prisht added that the amendments proposed by the Prachachon Party consist of 7 packages:
A. Erase the coup consequences, propose to cancel the NCPO’s national strategy, break the protection shield of the NCPO’s announcement orders, and increase the power to resist the coup.
B. Critique the power of the Constitutional Court and independent organizations that propose to end the monopoly of power on ethical standards, unlock political parties to be connected to the people by amending the Political Party Act.
C increases the mechanism to check corruption, proposes to prevent collusion between the government and the NACC, increases the power of the people to complain about politicians, disclose government information, protect whistleblowers.
D Protect people’s rights and freedoms by proposing a 15-year education method, human rights-environment, gender equality, rights in the justice process, freedom of e
xpression and conditions for limiting rights and freedoms.
E Reform the military, propose to abolish military conscription, adjust the scope of the military court’s authority.
F. Improve the efficiency of the parliament, improve the committee mechanism, adjust the definition of the opposition, increase the power of the parliament to consider the financial draft.
G adjusts the criteria for amending the constitution, which is proposed to amend Section 256.
Mr. Pris added that he had seen representatives of the Pheu Thai Party come out to talk about ethics issues, saying that they were really having problems, so they proposed amendments. What Mr. Wisut Chainarun, the government whip, said about proposing amendments to each section of the ethics issue to join the Prachachon Party as is customary is not true, because there were many versions proposed by the opposition party but the government did not. He also confirmed that it was not just the Prachachon Party that saw this problem; many political parties had
also commented that ethics issues were also a problem. He reiterated that proposing amendments to ethics issues was not for the benefit of any individual and he did not want this issue to be used as an excuse to move forward with amending the constitution article by article. Therefore, the Prachachon Party would like to suspend pushing for amendments to each section of the ethics issue for now. The reason for the suspension is that it reiterates its original stance of wanting to end the monopoly of power and ethical standards at the Constitutional Court, but it will continue to explain to society. However, it is concerned that other parties will use the issue of ethical standards as a condition. It rejected support for amendments to each section because it is very necessary. He also confirmed that the suspension of amendments to ethics issues is not related to the strong social trend of opposition.
“An important example is the cabinet appointment case, which reinforces the view that society may have unfairly
enforced ethical standards, such as the case of a former minister whom Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra today did not dare to appoint because she was afraid of violating ethics, but the same minister was appointed by former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha without hesitation and without leading to any problems,” said Mr. Parit.
Mr. Parit added that the drafting of a new constitution, if not in time for the next election, all political parties should see the need to cooperate in amending each section before there is a new version that is legitimate to make the political system more stable. And the 7 packages do not need to hold a referendum on every matter. He confirmed that there is no package that has never happened in Thai society and from now on, there must be discussions and understanding.
Mr. Prisht also wanted the government to clarify the roadmap, to make it clear how to proceed with the referendum 3 times, and to set a timeframe. As for what problems will arise if the amendment is not complete
d in time for the next election, Mr. Prisht confirmed that amending each section may not be able to amend every package because it is difficult. We will have to wait to make a new version, but along the way, if anything can be done, it should be done.
If the government cannot amend the constitution according to its policy, how will it be held accountable? Mr. Parit said that it is up to the people to decide, not just the constitution, but also everything the government has announced and promised according to its policy, which is considered a public contract. If the government cannot keep its promise, the people will reflect this in the next election.
Source: Thai News Agency